The Band of Brothers

Psalm 54

“God is my helper; the Lord is among those who are with me" (Psalm 54:4).

According to the superscription, this poem was written "when the Ziphites  told Saul, 'Is not David hiding among us?'"

David and his mighty men heard that the Philistines were pillaging the farms and fields of Keilah. (Keilah was a small village in Judah, David's tribe. Ziph was the geographical region in which the city of Keilah was located.) 

So, "David and his men went to Keilah and fought with the Philistines...and struck them with a great blow. In this way, David saved the inhabitants of Keilah" (1 Samuel 23:1ff.)

The story continues: "Saul was told that David had come to Keilah," whereupon Saul mustered his army and marched to the city, thinking that he would trap David within it's walls.

Who informed on David? Well...the Ziphites, the inhabitants of Keilah, his friends and neighbors, the folks he delivered from the Philistines, proving once again the old adage that no good deed goes unpunished.

However, God warned David of Saul's advance and David and his men were able to slip away into the Wilderness of Ziph, where, though Saul sought him every day, “God did not give him into his hand" (1Samuel 23:14)—a happy ending that takes us back to the theme of the psalm: God was one among David's band of brothers, the hard men that kept him safe at night. 

And so, though ersatz friends will betray me, I have loyal friends at my side, and God is one of them—my help in time of need. 

David Roper 

1.20.20